To be perfectly honest, the new User Account Control feature in Windows Vista is probably going to save more people from harm than it will annoy but, for those of us who have spent years navigating through that wonderful series of tubes we call the Internets, this “feature” will be the first thing you disable on all future installations of the OS.

Here is Microsoft’s overview of UAC for those of you who might be unfamiliar with the technology:

“The main goal of User Account Control is to reduce the exposure and attack surface of the operating system by requiring that all users run in standard user mode. This limitation minimizes the ability for users to make changes that could destabilize their computers or inadvertently expose the network to viruses through undetected malware that has infected their computer.

With User Account Control, IT administrators can run most applications, components and processes with a limited privilege, but have “elevation potential” for specific administrative tasks and application functions.

Conversely, when users encountera system task that requires administrator privileges, such as attempting to install an application, Windows Vista will notify the user and require administrator authorization. This type of prompting helps ensure that users do not accidentally make modifications to their desktops. It also helps eliminate the ability for malware to invoke administrator privileges without a user’s knowledge.”

See that part in bold?  That’s where the problem comes in.  I had to to a re-install Vista on my laptop yesterday and I’ve probably had at least 30 “notifications” since the installation.  Not only do I get notifications when trying to install an application (something I can definitely understand) but I get notifications when sending a file from an external hard drive to my local Recycle Bin.  That’s just plain annoying.  Another instance is when I want to create a new folder in the Program Files directory.  I get a notification asking me to “confirm this action.”  Once I click continue, my screen tints and I get ANOTHER notification asking me to authorize the task.  Two notifications for creating one folder.  Not cool.  However, let’s say I decided instead to scratch that idea.  I’m going to want to delete that folder but, hey, guess what…I have to go through the same two notification windows just to get rid of the folder whose creation I just authorized 5 SECONDS AGO.  Again…uncool.

So, planning on installing Vista anytime soon?  If you’re any kind of geek at all, here’s the first thing you’re going to want to do after installing the OS:

Control Panel > User Accounts and Family Safety > User Accounts > Turn User Account Control On or Off

Digg just completed a major revision of their site layout which takes full advantage of the entire width of your screen.  Very well done, I must say.  Check it out: digg.com.

We recently went in search of a freeware color picker application for Windows and we found ColorPix. 

Brought to you by the fine folks at ColorSchemer.com, this beautiful standalone executable provides you with a magnifier window, the ability to minimize to your system tray and also provides you with four different color code formats: RGB, HEX, HSB & CMYK.

Beautimous.  Absolutely fantabulous.

TheFind.com, a new unbiased shopping search engine, is getting into the spirit of the season by donating $1 per person for anyone using their new “search by color” feature and searching for anything red.  (Try out some of TheFind’s examples like a red wagon, a red sweater, or a red coffee maker.)

The best part is that you don’t even have to purchase anything you find.  The search engine will be donating the $1 per person based on searches alone…not by searches resulting in sales.  The company aims to raise $10,000.

The $1 per color search (red only) will be donated to the Doctors Without Borders program:

Doctors Without Borders is an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in more than 70 countries. A private, nonprofit organization, Doctors Without Borders was founded in 1971 as the first non-governmental organization to both provide emergency medical assistance and bear witness publicly to the plight of people it assists.

So, e-mail your friends and family or your co-workers (as if you don’t e-mail your co-workers enough already) and tell them to stop playing Sudoku and take just a second or two to do a search to support Color for a Cause.

Adobe Labs has the released the beta version of its newest Photoshop application.  PhotoshopUser.com has a great overview of what’s new but you can find out for yourself by downloading the beta from the Adobe Labs site.

I meant to post this on Black Friday but it slipped right past my radar. Wal-Mart, in their day after Thanksgiving advertisement, posted a Wireless Back-Up Camera System with Color LCD Monitor for $93. However, it wasn’t so much the price that had me doing a double-take:

What this advertisement is saying, without coming right out and saying it, is that “if you don’t buy our product, you will inevitably and carelessly run over a little girl and her dolly.”

Let me be the first to say that you are a sick, sick individual if you don’t buy one of these right now.

technorati tags:walmart, advertisement, black, friday